Sensoria Health and Optima to Develop Smart Diabetic Footwear

At CES 2018, Sensoria® Health and Optima Molliter will publicize a partnership to develop the first smart diabetic footwear product that will track a patient's adherence to the clinician’s prescribed mechanical offloading protocol.

One of the most risky and expensive complications of diabetes is signified by diabetic foot wounds, which will occur in around one third of people with diabetes. In the US, direct costs related with complications to diabetic limbs surpass the five most expensive cancers.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 422 million people suffer from diabetes. In a number of countries, including the USA, diabetes is an emergency of epidemic magnitudes, and diabetic foot complications are one of the most painful effects: every 30 seconds, a limb is lost because of diabetes.

"Unfortunately, we know that diabetic foot ulceration, if not clinically controlled and managed, can lead to infection, amputation, and in some cases, death of the patient1,” says Dr. David G. Armstrong, DPM, MD, PhD, Professor of Surgery at the University of Southern California (USC). “There is a huge need for new technology that addresses diabetic foot ulceration and provides interventions before amputation becomes medically necessary. There has never been a greater need for the merger of next-gen consumer electronics and medical devices. This is enormously exciting2."

A significant variable for the realization of offloading therapy is signified by the patient's "adherence to care," and their actual usage of the prescribed footwear. Patients used to be restricted into a full contact cast and some footwear products are currently equipped with a non-removable system to ensure their use, but both these options are not easily accepted by patients and not appropriate in the event of an infected wound3. Motus Smart, which will use Sensoria® Core and pressure sensors to track compliance, is a feasible substitute to a non-removable cam boot4. The Sensoria® sensors will function with a text messaging system and a web dashboard to notify patients, clinicians, and caregivers of non-compliant patients allowing for easy intervention.

Recording a patient’s compliance and usage patterns will reduce risk of amputations and provide objective data to the treating physician or hospital center that manages the patient.5 By giving information on the usage patterns, deambulatory activity and concentration of the patient's orthotic pressures, we will provide additional evidence to a patient’s adherence to the mechanical offloading treatment.

Franco Salvatelli, Research and Development Manager at Optima Molliter

Offloading is essential to diabetic foot ulcer healing, according to podiatry consensus guidelines.Motus Smart will significantly improve the lives of people that suffer from diabetic foot complications. With Sensoria’s technology, caregivers and clinicians will have access to multitudes of patient data, allowing them to track compliance and intervene before amputation becomes unavoidable.

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